(01-17) 23:19 PST GLEN ELLEN -- A contractor hired to move dirt in Glen Ellen died Friday when he was thrown from his tractor and run over, authorities said.

The victim, a 38-year-old Oakland man whose name wasn't immediately released, had been hired by a property owner to clear dirt from a dry pond on the 12100 block of Henno Road.

The contractor was operating a large bulldozer tractor without a seat belt when the front scraper hit the ground, catapulting him off the vehicle as it moved downhill, according to Sonoma County sheriff's investigators.

The victim was then run over and killed by the tractor.

The incident was witnessed by the property owner and is being investigated as a work-related death by Cal/OSHA.